Christmas Decorations
by Shadow of a Black Rose
Summary: Just a little one-shot about the lead up to Vastra and Jenny's first Christmas - cuteness ensues as always!


**Disclaimer: **Anything you recognise isn't mine and I'm not making money from this. Okay? Okay.

**Note: **Hello there strangers, long time no speak! Apologies for my absence as of late, I'm afraid it's the usual excuses - Uni, work, blah blah blah! Anyway, here's a quick one-shot which is actually doubling as a very late Christmas present to my beautiful girlfriend i-stretch-my-arms-into-the-sky (she only has one fic up so far but read her work! I promise it's beautiful and well worth your time :D) Merry (late) Christmas baby - I hope this present is worth the wait!

Right, all explanations out of the way I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and New Year and for those of you waiting for _Home - The Tale Continues_ updates I promise I'm working on it! In the meantime I hope everyone enjoys this little one-shot and, as always, I can't wait to hear your feedback 3

Love always

Shadow of a Black Rose xxx

**Christmas Decorations**

It had been a long day for Madame Vastra. From the moment that Inspector Abberline had called her in the early hours of the morning about the murder of the Queen's head butler her workload seemed to have been continuously growing and by the time she had finally finished dealing with her last case of the day (a gang of young men who had been prostituting street girls against their will) the Silurian felt almost ready to drop to the ground from exhaustion. After handing the last of the men to the officers of Scotland Yard she had hurried away and slid into her carriage as quickly as she possibly could, bundling herself tightly in her cloak and the extra blankets that she had taken to keeping stashed away there in an attempting to fight off the cold of London's winter months.

Vastra cursed the city in which she lived on days like these. She cursed the bitterly cold temperatures and the strong, uncontrollable winds. It made her miss her home so much more than she already did. She longed for her own time and her own people - the sun that heated the Earth until the water boiled, and the rocks on which she and her sisters had once basked carelessly for hours and hours as though they would spend their entire lives that way. The only comfort that the Silurian had in times like these was the knowledge that she would not be returning to a cold, empty house as she once had.

~.~.~.~.~.~

_During her first few months in the world of her own future Vastra was entirely alone. Once the Doctor had convinced her to try and make a life for herself amongst the humans and had found a house, a job and some money for her to begin her new life the timelord seemed to vanish into thin air and the Silurian was left to herself. In those days she did little to no socialising. She carried out her role within the police force of the city, of course, and was often rewarded with meals when she could slip one of the corpses of her targets past the other officers without being noticed, but aside from that the woman remained cooped up within her large, unheated home with nothing but a few old pieces of furniture in each room and a book or two that the Doctor had left with her to help her learn about the species amongst which she now resided. _

_Vastra had grown lonely in those months. She would never have admitted it had she been asked at the time, but day after day when she walked through that house or the streets of the city all alone she longed for companionship, for a friendly face or a smile. More than anything she longed for her lost sisters. _

_But during the fourth month of the Silurian's new life everything changed. The Doctor had appeared out of nowhere with a young girl laying unconscious in his arms and (after a lot of confusion and arguing) the timelord somehow managed to convince Vastra to take the human girl in. Admittedly the lizard woman was not best pleased at first. She had seen humans in her line of work and, from her observations, there were only two kinds - the criminals and the unintelligent, narrow-minded fools like those for whom she worked. Having no desire to consort with a member of such a species Vastra avoided Jenny for weeks, leaving notes dotted about the house in obscure places so that the girl would have odd jobs to keep her occupied, but on the whole keeping herself shut away in either her bedroom or the sitting room. It was not until two months later that one evening, as she was sat reading one of the books that the Doctor had given her, that Vastra's attention was drawn from her reading by something that she had caught sight of from the corner of her eye which prompted her to seek out the human girl._

_'How peculiar' the Silurian thought to herself, 'I do not recall that armchair being there before'. The object which had caught her attention was placed almost directly opposite her own seat and, although it did not match exactly, there was an eerie similarity between the two pieces of furniture. The confusion that engulfed Vastra's mind was enough for her to forget her discomfort concerning the girl who she had taken on as a maid and, abandoning her book almost immediately, the Silurian stood and headed directly for Jenny's room in the attic. Barging in without even a thought of knocking the Silurian found herself stood face to face with the human who seemed to be wearing far less clothing than was normal for her and in the shock of the moment the girl squealed, grabbing the blanket from her bed as quickly as she could and desperately trying to cover her modesty as Vastra looked on, seemingly unaffected. _

_"Ma'am! What on earth are you doin' up 'ere...?! An' why didn't you knock?!" The Silurian chose not to answer either question directly, instead turning her attention to the immediate question that she herself had had on her mind. _

_"Miss Flint, I have recently noticed some changes to the furnishings of my home, would you care to explain this to me?" Jenny just stared at her blankly for a moment, not entirely sure how she could answer such a question. The girl was still holding her blanket tightly around herself and she could feel her face flushing crimson in embarrassment as the taller, older, greener woman studied her evenly, awaiting her response. _

_"I... well... I only thought you might like to live a little more comfortably ma'am. This bein' such a big 'ouse an' all I thought it could do with some more furnishin's to make it feel more 'omely." Jenny's reply was so rushed that for a moment, as Vastra remained silently watching her, the girl was a little unsure as to whether the Silurian had actually understood a word that she had said. Vastra, however, had understood perfectly what she had been told and merely continued to study her maid for a few minutes, her facial expression unreadable. "I apologise if I was actin' out o' turn ma'am, I..." A scaled hand was lifted to cease the maid's words and finally Vastra nodded her head once (confirming, Jenny assumed, that the reasoning was acceptable to her mind) before turning on her heel and disappearing out of the room and back down the stairs, leaving Jenny's bedroom door wide open and the girl herself standing motionless in the centre of the room, her blanket still wrapped around herself and her mouth hanging slightly ajar in shock. _

_It was that evening that Vastra had first noticed the change in her home and herself. She had not made it further than the second floor of the house before she found herself stood motionless on the landing, her face tilted back towards the room she had just left and one hand pressed to her chest as though she were about to swoon while the other gripped the corner of the nearest wall. Why did she feel so lightheaded all of a sudden? Why had her heart rate increased so dramatically? She brushed it off, assuming that the humans had infected her with some illness or another but as she returned to her reading the feelings still played on in the back of her mind and another question began to present itself - why had she not felt any different until after the discourse that passed between herself and the girl? _

_In the days that followed Vastra's attitude towards the girl who had been left in her care had changed dramatically. She stopped avoiding Jenny as she had done before and, although she could still not explain it, she had begun to like the way that being in close proximity to the maid would make her heart rate increase and her senses involving anything but that little human grow dull. It hadn't occurred to Vastra at the time that perhaps her change in attitude towards Jenny had anything to do with her emotions towards the girl. The thought never crossed her mind that perhaps she had sensed something in the maid that day that would later grow to mean so very much to her. It wasn't until the warmer months began to slip away and Jenny began to check on her mistress' wellbeing more and more frequently that Vastra began to question why these small acts of kindness seemed to cause her heart to skip beats, or why she had developed such a sense of longing for the girl's presence and her fussing over her coldblooded mistress who was finding her first winter in Victorian London rather difficult to endure._

~.~.~.~.~.~

The carriage pulled up outside the house on Paternoster Row and Vastra managed to drag herself from her own thoughts for long enough to disentangle herself from the blankets in which she had cocooned herself and step out into the cold night once more. Looking up at the house a small smile pulled at the corner of the Silurian's lips and she allowed her eyes to linger on the soft light issuing from the sitting room window. So much had changed since Jenny had first become a resident within the house, most of all Vastra's view of humanity. The girl had shown her a different side to humans, a side that was kind and compassionate, a side that had allowed the two women to bond and grow to be good friends.

As Vastra closed the door behind herself, pulled her veil from her head and looked around the entrance hall she could scarcely believe what she was seeing. There were candles lit on almost every surface and some form of leaves were wrapped around the handrail that curved along one edge of the staircase, reaching all the way up to the first floor of the house. The gas lights had been dimmed to a soft glow and hanging down the length of the walls from the ceiling were delicate strings of coloured stars that seemed to have been cut from a gold-tinted paper. The Silurian knew that she had had a tiring day but Vastra was sure that the house had not been so ornately decorated when she had left it that morning and for the life of her she could not figure out why on earth Jenny would make such alterations to their home.

"Jenny...?"

"I'm through 'ere ma'am." The girl's voice floated through the air in that musical way that it always did and Vastra turned her gaze towards the door of the sitting room through which the reply had issued. A slight tingle crept through the Silurian's body but she tried to ignore it as best she could, slowly making her way across the entrance hall while removing her cloak and gloves and sliding through the first door on her right into the spacious and yet rather cosy room with two armchairs, a large sofa, a coffee table, two full walls of book cases and... a tree?

"Jenny, what on earth is going on here?"

" Well I'm decoratin' o' course ma'am."

"Decorating? For what, exactly? Are the furnishings of our home no longer to your satisfaction?" For the first time since her mistress had returned Jenny looked up from the lower levels of the large fir tree on which she had been placing pine cones, ribbons, baubles and all manner of other decorations and, on seeing the furrowed brow and stiff posture of the Silurian, she straightened herself up to stand, a bauble hanging carelessly from her fingers.

"Madam, you do know what time o' year it is, don't you?"

"How could I not? The bitter cold climate of this city's winters prevent me from forgetting." Vastra hissed irritably, throwing a glare in the direction of the nearest window which painted a beautiful picture of the snow-covered gardens - untouched sheets of ivory that hid the grass and trees and flowerbeds from sight.

At her mistress' reaction Jenny simply laughed. She should have known that Vastra would not yet have come to terms with all of the holidays and celebrations that humans had on certain dates throughout the year. Admittedly Christmas in itself was a fairly new concept even in London but still Jenny was a little surprised that it was not something that Vastra had learned of through her colleagues at Scotland Yard or those books that she was forever reading.

"The furnishin's of the 'ouse are fine ma'am," the maid stated simply, hoping in a way that her mistress may suddenly come to a sort of realisation and find that she did, after all, understand why Jenny had spent her entire day decorating the house rather than seeing to her chores.

"Then why, may I ask, have you taken it upon yourself to make changes?" Clearly the girl's hopes had been in vain.

"Because it's Christmas, ma'am!"

All attempts at conversation paused for a moment and Vastra looked at the girl who still stood before her, now toying with the object that she held in her hand that Vastra had deduced was a ball of blown glass, decorated with paint and attached to a small piece of thread. The Silurian hadn't the slightest idea what Jenny was talking about but the way that the delicate little maid's eyes had lit up at the use of the unfamiliar word had made her want nothing more than to see that spark of light in those pretty brown eyes of hers once more.

"I am afraid I haven't the slightest idea what you are saying my dear."

"Christmas ma'am, it's a religious tradition. In the month o' December people decorate their 'ouses in preparation for Christmas day on December twenty-fifth - the day that Christ was born. Then, on December twenty-fifth everyone celebrates when families gather together an' 'ave a large meal an' exchange gifts an'..."

"So I gather you will not be working on this day?" The sudden coldness in Vastra's voice shocked Jenny and a second passed in which the maid had no idea what she was supposed to say. Her mistress' sharp blue eyes seemed to have left her own dark counterparts where they had rested before and the Silurian slowly began to move away from where she had stood before her maid, gliding over to the sofa where she lowered herself to sit, her hands resting in her lap and her eyes fixed on the fire burning in the grate.

"Why on earth would you think that ma'am?" Jenny's voice suddenly seemed so small and weak and Vastra stiffened at the sound of it. Sometimes she forgot that the girl was still human. Sometimes it slipped her mind that Jenny was not her own kin and that she would not be around forever.

Silence fell between the two women and the only sound that could be heard was the soft crackles and pops as the logs in the fireplace were consumed by the flames. Vastra remained motionless, her mind playing through everything that had happened since the day that she had found herself in this miserable world. She had thought that it was getting better. She had thought that she had found a place to belong in her large house with the sweet little human girl who was so unlike the others. Had she been wrong?

"No doubt you will wish to spend this celebratory day with your own family Miss Flint, and of course I will not prevent you from doing so." Why did the words hurt? Why was the thought of even a single day without Jenny residing within the same four walls as her so painful? "If it is tradition then who am I to stand in the..."

"'old on a minute. What are you talkin' about ma'am?"

"Well.. you specifically said that this 'Christmas' tradition was a time for family. I merely assumed that..."

"In all o' the months that I've been livin' an' workin' 'ere 'ave I ever once mentioned family?" Vastra's eyes flicked up to find Jenny where she had been standing when she had left her but the girl was not where the Silurian had expected her to be. A confused frown etched itself on her sculpted features and it wasn't until she felt the sofa shifting slightly to her left side that Vastra realised that the maid must have been moving while she had had her attention focused elsewhere. "Ma'am, I don't need time off... I'll be 'ere Christmas day, same as always."

"But... Jenny, I do not understand..."

"I belong 'ere now, that's all there is to it." Vastra could see in the girl's face that there was something she was keeping from her. Jenny's dark eyes had lowered into her lap and her fingers were fidgeting restlessly with the glass bauble that she still gripped between them. The Silurian had never seen her maid without the bright smile that she wore each day and the twinkle in her eyes that never seemed to fade. The expression painted on Jenny's pale face was pensive and ever so slightly sad but, despite the way that it made Vastra's heart sink, the woman still couldn't help but see the beauty of the girl's pain.

"My dear, forgive my intrusion but you seem rather..."

"I'm fine." And just like that the moment had passed. Jenny's bright smile slid back into place and she lifted her gaze once more to peer into her mistress' face. "Well, lots to do still."

The girl masked her pain well but Vastra still sensed that her heart was not entirely at ease. There was something lacking in the girl's voice; that musical note that played on the Silurian's ear was missing and its absence pulled at her heart strings, urging her to comfort the girl despite Jenny's clear wish to not discuss whatever dark memory it was that haunted her. There was a pause in which Vastra's mind fought with her heart, her mind reminding her of who and what she was while her heart pleaded with her not to leave the girl feeling as downtrodden as she so clearly did. It wasn't until the sofa shifted once more as Jenny rose from her seat that Vastra's hand darted out, catching hold of the human girl's own before she could retreat back to her decorating.

"Jenny..." The maid's head turned to peer down at her mistress curiously but she did not pull away. The warm smooth skin under Vastra's own cool scales was an odd sensation indeed and she had to pause for a moment to collect her thoughts. "If you should ever need to talk... that is... if you ever require someone to turn to concerning the thoughts that consume your mind... I..." What was she trying to say exactly? Oh how Vastra wished she had thought this through a little more before so recklessly reaching out to grasp the girl's attention.

A small smile seemed to play on Jenny's lips for a moment and the Silurian felt a slight squeeze as the girl's warm, soft grip tightened ever so slightly around her own. "That's very kind o' you ma'am." The murmured response was barely audible and Vastra could have sworn that she saw a slight tear in her maid's eye, although any trace disappeared far too fast for her to be sure. After a moment the heat of the girl's hand slipped away but there was something left in the Silurian's grip. Looking down Vastra examined the small glass orb hanging from her fingers from the looped thread before glancing back at the maid who was once more knelt by the tree and focusing all of her attention on the decorating of their newly acquired plant's lower branches. For a moment the girl's focus faltered and she turned back to look at her mistress over her shoulder.

"Well? Are you gonna 'elp me or not?"


End file.
